economy falls off this cliff, ripple effects are expected. >> reporter: the term fiscal cliff has been making headlines recently. here's a brief explanation. it's a term used to refer to the economic fallout that might occur because of policy divisions in the u.s. congress. if democrats and republicans cannot come to an agreement on resolving the fiscal cliff by year end, sudden tax increases and drastic budget cuts will take effect and would dramatically slow the u.s. economy. let's look into the two main components of the fiscal cliff. first, taxes. democrats want to let tax cuts for the wealthy to expire but republicans are generally opposed to the plan. individuals would be hit with huge tax hikes if lawmakers cannot find common ground. second component of the fiscal cliff is large federal spending cuts. the cuts will take effect if the two parties fail to strike a deal. spending would be reduced in areas such as health care which democrats oppose. the defense budget would also be cut. republicans are against that happening. the u.s. congressional budget office says the sudden belt